Lehigh Valley Food Bank

Response to the Lehigh Valley Food Bank's request for gardeners to plant and donate extra food has been slight thus far, according to Sandra Murphy, executive director of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley. Murphy said the bank usually receives most of its donations from gardeners in August. "I don't think that the produce season has peaked yet, but when it does we should start getting donations from gardeners," she said. The Lehigh Valley Food Bank is a program set up by the Community Action Committee and is a member of the Second Harvest National Food Bank Network.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania recently received a $5,750 grant from Highmark for its Backpack Buddies program which provides a package of food every Friday to 176 children at risk of hunger on the weekends. The child-friendly food of seven meals and six snacks reaches 30 children in both Easton and Bethlehem, and 116 in the City of Allentown. Children who participate in the program show improvement in behavior, appearance, and schoolwork, according to adults who work with the children.

The Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley announced yesterday that it has completed its purchase of an 18,000-square-foot warehouse in Allentown to serve as the new home of the Lehigh Valley Food Bank. The new building at 400 S. 20th St. more than doubles the food bank's storage space. The current 7,600-square-foot warehouse is at 1138 N. Godfrey St. in east Allentown. The sale price of the new building is $390,000. CACLV Executive Director Alan Jennings said it will require an additional $65,000 in upgrades, including a larger refrigeration unit.

A story like this makes your head spin ... after reading all the news filled with all the bad things people do everyday everywhere. It warms your heart and makes you think about people in general, and that there really are a lot of good people out there in the world. Suzanne-2201 Oct. 6, 8:44 a.m .

Expanding the network of agencies being served, increasing food distribution and establishing a permanent home were the three biggest accomplishments of the Lehigh Valley Food Bank during its first five years of operation, says Food Bank Director Janet Ney. The food bank, sponsored by the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, serves a two-fold purpose. It re-distributes salvage and surplus foods to needy people and eliminates the food industry's waste of edible foods. "We are providing a service to the food industry," by taking the food off of their hands and putting it to good use, Ney says.

In the sports and business worlds, good competition often makes the participants better. The same equation doesn't always hold true in the nonprofit world, said Alan Jennings, executive director of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley. "Mergers should be seen as positive things when it comes to the nonprofit world -- if you could save money on administration, the development of staff and all of the printing costs," he said. The CACLV runs the Second Harvest Food Bank of Lehigh Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania, which is part of the merger between America's Second Harvest and Foodchain.

The Allentown Area Ecumenical Food Bank, not the Lehigh Valley Food Bank, is one of the human service agencies that would occupy the All-American Community Center, Allentown, under a proposed joint ownership plan. A story in Sunday's Morning Call incorrectly said the Lehigh Valley Food Bank is a potential occupant. The Ecumenical Food Bank, which is located in St. John's Lutheran Church, Allentown, distributes food directly to needy persons through referrals from social service agencies.

A group of employees from a Lehigh Valley business recently helped stock shelves and do related work at the Lehigh Valley Food Bank warehouse in Allentown. The volunteers, employees at Dun & Bradstreet, Fogelsville, have dubbed themselves the "Ready, Willing and Able Team." "It was the first time they had been at the warehouse, but they have done other things for us," said Mary Ann Sarson of Whitehall, director of the Lehigh Valley Food Bank. The Food Bank serves 140 charitable agencies.

St. Luke's Hospital once again is serving as a community collection center for the Bethlehem area food drive, "Feed a Neighbor." Food will be collected in the lobby and the cafeteria for distribution to needy people in the community. Donated items must be non-perishable. Breakfast and high protein items (coffee, tea, non-dairy creamer, cereals, tuna or other canned fish, peanut butter, canned meats) will be accepted through Tuesday. Dinner items (pasta, rice, canned fruits and vegetables, juices, one-dish dinners)

In the sports and business worlds, good competition often makes the participants better. The same equation doesn't always hold true in the nonprofit world, said Alan Jennings, executive director of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley. "Mergers should be seen as positive things when it comes to the nonprofit world -- if you could save money on administration, the development of staff and all of the printing costs," he said. The CACLV runs the Second Harvest Food Bank of Lehigh Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania, which is part of the merger between America's Second Harvest and Foodchain.

You don't have to venture out of the Valley this weekend if music is what you're looking for. The finest senior drum and bugle corps in the United States and Canada will be featured during the DCA World Championship this weekend in Allentown. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. today with the "Championship Spectacular Parade" down Hamilton Street. Open-class preliminary competition starts at 10 a.m. Saturday at J. Birney Crum Stadium, 20th and Linden streets, and an individual and ensemble contest will be held on Hamilton Mall at 6:30 p.m. The fest concludes Sunday with a DCA Alumni Class Show and the DCA World Championship Finals at 1 and 6:30 p.m., respectively, at the stadium.

At a luncheon today, The Morning Call will present Community Spirit Awards to 17 groups and individuals who have performed volunteer service that makes the Lehigh Valley a better place. The newspaper has been singling out volunteers for these honors since 1989, and this year's recipients are much like those from past years: inspired by imagination, energized by selflessness, and generous without bounds. This year's program is special because of its coincidence with an event of national importance, the Presidents' Summit for America's Future, a conference on volunteerism that opens Sunday in Philadelphia.

Valerie Zanchettin is this week's recipient of the "Best of the Best" award. Zanchettin attends Allen High School where she ranks third out of 457 in the senior class. At school, she has been active all four years in the swim team and is co-captain of the team, marching band, concert band and school newspaper. She participated in the Junior Classical League for three years. She is also a member of the Contemporary Affairs Club, Key Club and the French Club. A member of the National Honor Society, she won first place in the Holocaust Writing Contest in 10th grade.

Althea J. Rutman, 73, of 4143 N. Church St., Whitehall Township, died Friday in Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township, after being stricken at home. She was the wife of Charles M. Rutman. They were married 50 years in June. Born in South Whitehall Township, she was a daughter of the late Stanley J. and Stella (Rex) Reinert. She was a member of St. John's United Church of Christ, Laurys Station, and a past member of its stewardship committee. She taught Sunday school at Egypt United Church of Christ for 45 years.

Jeffrey M. Larkin, 25, of Allentown, died Thursday in St. Luke's Hospital, after being stricken in Bethlehem. The Lehigh County coroner's office said a cause of death is pending autopsy results. He was a warehouse worker for Second Harvest, formerly the Lehigh Valley Food Bank, Allentown. Born in Allentown, he was a son of Richard J. Larkin of Whitehall Township and Judith A. (Laudenslager) Larkin of Allentown. He was a 1988 graduate of Dieruff High School. Survivors: Parents, and sister, Tracey A., wife of David J. Miller, and paternal grandmother, Martha E. Persing, both of Allentown.

Marco Friend, 11, of Boy Scout Troop 318 stacks boxes of food at the troop's headquarters behind Rosemont Lutheran Church in Bethlehem after collecting the donations from around the city. The food will be given to the Lehigh Valley Food Bank to help brighten the Thanksgiving tables of many people throughout the area.

Imagine a Christmas food-shopping list that includes 1,400 hams and 700 turkeys. Quite monumental, right? So are the bills, said Christine Eisenhut, director of Second Harvest Food Bank of Lehigh Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania. The agency is short $2,000 to cover its food shopping spree, and hopes donations will compensate for the shortage, she said. It is one of several area organizations still in need of donations during the holiday season. Second Harvest, formerly known as the Lehigh Valley Food Bank, supplies food to more than 200 agencies, including soup kitchens, food pantries, child care and senior citizen centers.

Grayson McNair and Jane Ervin, Republican candidates for Lehigh County commissioner, won write-in campaigns in the primary election and their names will appear on the Republican and Democratic tickets Nov. 7. An article Wednesday incorrectly said they had cross-filed. Also, McNair no longer works for Lehigh Valley Food Bank. He is executive director of the Lehigh-Carbon Community College Foundation.